‘Pakistani nation’s routine needs to undergo a sea change’

Diabetes has spread like wildfire in Pakistan, the entire nation needs to adopt a healthy lifestyle to protect itself and the coming generations from this condition, warned diabetologists at a talk held on Sunday.

The event was jointly organised by the Diabetic Association of Pakistan (DAP) and the World Health Organisation’s collaborating centre in Karachi, with respect to the World Diabetes Day, observed annually on November 14. Pakistanis were urged to wake up early, eat less but a healthy diet, going on walks daily and sleeping early.

‘A diseased nation’

“Around 15 percent adults have been diagnosed with diabetes in the past 20 years in Pakistan. If we continue with our unhealthy sedentary lifestyles, around 75 percent of our population are likely to develop diabetes in the next 20 years,” said eminent diabetologist and director Baqai Institute of Diabetology and Endocrinology, Prof Abdul Basit.

He referred to the Pakistani nation as a ‘diseased nation’ owing to their poor lifestyle choices. People are now in a habit of getting up late, not exercising or engaging in physical activities, eating heavy meals late in the night and going to bed late. Such behaviours have scientifically proven to be major causes of diabetes, Prof Basit stated.

“Islam teaches us to rise early and have a fulfilling breakfast; this is a scientifically proven healthy practice. Everywhere in the world, in the Far East, Europe and Americas, people get up early, have dinner at 7 or 8pm and go to bed. But this is not the case in Pakistan.”

Eat less, walk more

Secretary general of the DAP and honorary president of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Prof Dr Samad Shera urged people to eat less and walk more.

He identified type-II diabetes as the most prevalent type of the medical condition in Pakistanis. “This is a lifestyle disease. It silently affects your system for around six to eight years and the patient feels nothing till it’s completely developed.”

The diabetologist added that over 80 percent diabetics are given insulin in a wrong manner in Pakistan. It should not be injected in the calf or the arms, because that often leads to amputation of the limbs, said Dr Shera. “It is supposed to be injected in either the abdomen, at a two-inch space from the belly button, or in the front of the thigh.” 

Majority of our doctors, paramedics and all those associated with the medical profession do not have enough education about diabetes. “Pakistan is facing an epidemic of diabetes, and to control it we need mass education, that of the policymakers, physicians and paramedics, patients, public and the press,” he said.

Another diabetologist, Prof Zaman Shaikh, said lifestyle modification meant dieting or eating less but healthy food, quitting smoking, resorting to daily exercise and reducing weight.

Gestational diabetes

Renowned Gynaecologist Prof Shabeen Naz Masood said if a pregnant woman develops gestational diabetes she risks passing the disease on to her children. She urged all expectant women to get their sugar levels checked at least thrice during the pregnancy and consult a physician in case of any anomaly in blood sugar levels.

The session was also addressed by Dr Masood and president of the Pakistan Diabetic Association, Mian Mukhtar. The event was well attended by a large number of diabetics from across the city. They were provided with an opportunity to ask questions about diabetes to acquire a better understanding of their disease, how to manage and prevent it.